In Module 3 we were asked to read “Library Catalogues of the Future: A Social Space and Collaborative Tool?” (Tarulli & Spiteri, 2012). The article was extremely thorough in its exploration of the idea of making the library catalogue a virtual space where users can collaborate. There were many interesting ideas presented in the article. The focus was on public libraries but it got me thinking about our school’s library catalogue.

I did a bit of digging to see what was possible in our school. It turns out that students can log in and create an avatar and personalise their own library page. They can search the catalogue, see what items they have borrowed and when they are due, and ask for recommendations based on their past borrowing. That is, unfortunately, the limit of what they can do. When I have contacted the Library Management System in the past, they have been more than willing to collaborate and help modify things for our library. I wonder if I ask them to start by creating a space where students can share reviews of books they have read that can be seen by other users. We already have a paper version of this (book review) that gets added to our slides on the library TV but this would be a much quicker version (they wouldn’t have to wait for us to upload it). I wonder what other things students might enjoy doing in the catalogue (tagging?). Perhaps, a student survey and some research into what other schools have done would be a great starting place.

Tarulli, L., & Spiteri, L. (2012). Library catalogues of the future: A social space and collaborative tool? Library trends, 61(1), 107-131. Retrieved from https://dalspace.library.dal.ca/bitstream/handle/10222/15571/06_61_1_tarulli_107-131.pdf?sequence=1